


Valentine's Day

by klazomania



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: 2 chapters, Batfamily Feels, Blood, Bromance, Canon, Canon Related, Complete, Cute, Dick comforting Artemis, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Just Friends, Other, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics, Team as Family, Wally being clumsy, as usual, minor blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-11-05 16:37:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17922449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klazomania/pseuds/klazomania
Summary: Artemis receives a gift on Valentine's Day she isn't prepared for.





	1. Roses

**Author's Note:**

> I thought I'd post this in honor of the new season, as a way to tide everyone over during the break. I wrote this a while ago but was too scared to post it and then too scared to finish it... but here it is! It's set between seasons 1 and 2, before the time skip. The gang knows about Artemis' father being Sportsmaster but is still dealing with it, since it hasn't been that long since they found out. There will be a second chapter up in a week :)

"My fault?! How is this my fault?!" Wally exclaimed. Artemis' glare shot up to the confused look plastered across Wally's face. The water that used to be in her vase of roses now dripped down his face, hair, and shirt.

"How is this not your fault! You crashed straight into me! Those roses were fro- they were important!" Artemis flung her hands in the direction of the bent roses and shattered glass as she screeched at Wally.

"Artemis, I -" "No! You killed them!" She crouched down on her knees by the roses and began trying to pick them up around the shards of glass that littered the floor. Of course this happens, Artemis murmured under breath as the roses began pilling up in her arms. Wally just has to choose today of all days to be super speeding around the hall she happened to be walking on. She saw Wally standing to the side, watching her carefully pluck the roses from the ground and cradle them in her arms. Artemis listened to his frustrated growl and watched as the water from his shirt created a small puddle in front of her. Artemis looked up when a cold drop of water landed on her hairline and picked up a large share of glass that was holding two roses together. She hissed as she felt the sharp, burning pain typically associated with a paper cut, only this was with glass and much deeper. She immediately felt Wally's eyes on her.

"A-Are you okay?" Came Wally's hesitant questioning, concern obvious in his voice.

"I'm fine,"Artemis snapped, her anger brimming over. The roses she was attempting to salvage only moments earlier had fallen to the ground, now wilting as if they knew that they were being neglected. Artemis looked down to inspect her new injury and frowned. There was a fresh cut from the shard of glass and blood was oozing from her self-inflicted injury. The cut was diagonal from her pinky finger to her thumb. It stung, and bad. Wally's eyes widened as he sputtered before springing into action.

_Clank_

A large crash came from the direction of the living room. Artemis rolled her eyes, knowing that in his rush to get the first aid kit in the clinic, he had forgotten about the medical instruments that were also always on that table. A slight smile bloomed as the sounds of him scrambling around to put everything back into place reminded her of the countless messes Wally had made in the past, mostly pranks involving her and Robin. She hadn't moved from her position on the ground beside her roses, the blooming smile still present when he finally returned. Now, she was cradling her hand and was no longer scowling at the broken vase on the ground. Artemis looked up to see Wally's blurry figure speeding in, the flash of red reflecting off the first aid kit he held in his hands. He knelt down beside her, hesitating before starting to speak.

"Artemtis, that looks deep. I have the first aid kit, let me help." Wally unzipped the kit he has taken from the cave's clinic and started taking things out. He picked up the gauze with one hand and reached out to her with his other, but her smiled fell and she scowled at his out reached hand. Artemis jerked her injured one back towards her body.

"No, just go Wally. Don't make it any worse." The roses Wally ruined were important to her, and she had lost them. She wasn't about to let him feel better about it by helping her. So instead, Artemis angled her bleeding hand away from her shirt with a sigh, attempting to avoid dripping any more blood from her hand onto it as she stood up. She teetered, slipping slightly on the water at her feet before steadying herself and spinning on her heels. She turned to the side and got a glimpse of Wally's flabbergasted expression at her reaction before her back was to him and she was stomping out of the room.

oOo

Artemis walked into her room and slammed the door behind her. A grimace flashed on her face as she peeled off the end of her long-sleeve shirt. It came off slowly. The shirt had been glued to her skin by the stickiness of the blood. As soon as all the clothe was peeled away from the cut, she made her way over to the sink in her bathroom. Ice cold water rushed over her fresh wound, the fridged temperature making it start stinging all over again. With a groan, Artemis started workeing, viciously scrubbing the wound clean. The buildup of water in the sink turned pink before it was rinsed down the drain, the clear water replacing it. She pressed her lips together in frustration and in an attempt to keep her teeth from chattering.

Artemis shifted her weight from foot to foot as the icy water continued to run over her hands and arms. How could a simple cut make water feel this cold against her skin? She could feel the stinging, burning cold when the water reached her cut, but it wasn't the water making her cold, it was the air in her room. It was freezing as well, to the point where she could practically feel her leg hairs growing back. She bit back a tear threatening to escape her carefully constructed facade. Why did he hurt her so much? She shouldn't care about anything he does, not after everything he's done to her, to her mother, to her sister. She backed away from sink, pulling out a folded, half-sheet of paper in pristine condition. It was a simple card, no decorations or colors, and contained only four words.

_Happy Valentine's Day, Artemis._

When she has gotten the flowers and card this morning, at her house, she had been confused, happy, and a little creeped out. They didn't make sense to her. When she looked at the card now though, all she saw was the pain he had out her through. All the struggles and all the suffering she had to endure to get to where she was today. The shattered glass and crumpled up roses just reminded her of that. All her father brought her was pain.

"Ahh!" Artemis eyed the fresh dent in the wall. Maybe punching walls while injured wasn't the best idea. She could tell herself Sportsmaster brought her nothing but pain all day long, but it didn't change the fact that he was her father. No matter what happened, there would always be a small part of her that wanted his approval and love. Little things like flowers on Valentine's and a card on her birthday showed he still acknowledged her as his daughter. Though they were few and far between, they showed he would still avenge her if she died, still accept her if she ever, for some unknown reason, decide to join him. And now it's a pile of broken glass and browning roses.


	2. A Friend Helps Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin finds Artemis dealing with a mess.

"Ah, no!" Robin fumbled with his phone, bouncing it between his hands like pin-ball machine. The phone slipped between his fingers and landed right in the center of a fresh glass of orange juice he had brought to his room seconds before.

"Dang it," mumbled Robin. He pulled his unreleased version of the newest WayneTech phone out, cupping his hand under it to catch the orange liquid still dripping out of the charging port. "Bruce is gonna kill me." Robin sighed. This was the third phone he's had to have replaced in six months. You'd think that being Robin, the Boy Wonder, would mean he could keep the same phone for a year, but sadly, it does not. Robin gently placed his phone in a hand towel to wipe the stickiness off. Robin stood beside his towel-wrapped phone, awkwardly holding it out to the side. He didn't want to tell Bruce he had broken yet another phone, but he couldn't think of anything else to do. Eventually Bruce or Alfred would try and call him, and then he would end up grounded ... twice. And on top of that, Alfred's grounded means no cookies for an entire week! Robin gave up. There was no way out. He sat the icky phone in his dresser beside a bottle of old, musty smelling cologne Megan had bought him.

Wait. Wally! Wally had dropped his phone in a puddle of spilt perfume last year and managed to save it by soaking it in rice, even if it smelt like a girl for months. A flash of hope crossed Robin's face. His didn't fall in perfume, just orange juice. Maybe there was a way to hide this from Bruce after all.

oOo

Artemis yanked on a spare uniform top a step away from the hallway. Her door slammed violently behind her, making her jump in surprise.

"Ugh," complained Artemis, "What a great hero I am, jumping around at loud noises." She scrunched up her eyes, pausing, and glanced around the hallway. Coming up with nothing, she rolled her eyes. "Great, now I'm talking to myself." She stomped into the kitchen, even more pissed off now then she had been before. Everything had finally sunk in, and that hadn't done any wonders for her mood.

Artemis heard a loud smack and glanced up to see Robin flipping back down from the top shelf, blue bag in hand. "Rice, Robin? Gosh, drop your wrist computer thing in the toilet or something?" He shot a sheepish smile in her direction.

"Not exactly. More like my phone in a cup of orange juice."

Artemis closed her eyes in exasperation. "Good one boy wonder. Need help saving it?" Artemis had already gotten a plastic bag out of a nearby drawer by the time she was finished speaking. "Pour the rice into here and then put your phone in. If it doesn't turn on in a couple of days, it can't be saved."

"Have you had to do this before?" Robin questioned as he followed her instructions. He did better then she usually did, only a few grains of rice escaping the bag.

"A of couple times. I'm a little clumsy sometimes. Let's go get your phone." Artemis and Robin headed back down the hallway she us just come from, this time going to Robin's room. When they reached the door, Robin spoke.

"Let me go put the phone in here. I might as well leave it in my room." Artemis simply nodded. It was nothing new, as he never let anyone in his room. He only made her wait a minute or so before he was back, bag of rice no where to be found. Still, she had to have something to make fun of him with.

"What took you so long, slow-poke?" Artemis pushed him away from her. Unfortunately for her, she forgot about her injury and did it with the hand she had cut less than an hour ago. "Dang it!" She hissed as she tanked her hand back into her chest. Taking a glance at it she noticed that it had started to bleed through the bandage.

"Artemis?" Robin gave her a questioning look before noticing the blood on her hand. "Did you open it back up? I noticed it earlier I just didn't want to say anything." Artemis just shot him a look. Obviously she opened it back up. "Okay, dumb question. Come on, let's go to the infirmary."

"No," Artemis said. "the first aid kit is in my room. I did this today. Let's just go there." She started off towards her room, leaving Robin to catch up with her. He did, in fact, beating her to her room and opening the door for her. She walked in and sat down on her bed, glancing her room over for the medical kit. Her face grew red as she suddenly remembered she had never gotten the kit from Wally and just wrapped her hand in an old tank top. "Oh. I might have accidentally lied."

"I can see that." Robin chuckled. "Do you want me to go actually grab the kit?"

"No, it's okay." Artemis shook her head. "Honestly, I think it's done bleeding."

"If you say so." Robin muttered as he took a look around her room. He has started taking a couple steps forward when he noticed the crushed rose petals littering her bathroom floor. "What happened to those?" He pointed towards the petals.

"Wally." Artemis scoffed. Robin chuckled. That was all the explanation he needed.

"Who were they from?" Robin quizzed, cocking his head to the side. "Not Wally?" As much as he cared about his best friend and believed in his skills with girls... buying roses was not his thing.

"No. They were from... my dad. I didn't want to say anything, I know everyone's still really sensitive about me being Sportsmaster's daughter." Artemis glanced over at Robin to see a small smile on his face.

"I get it." Robin said as he walked over to the side of her bed. "He's your father, even if you don't approve of what he does. If I got a present from my Dad, I'd keep it too, no matter what."

"You mean Batman?" Artemis chuckled. "That makes sense, I don't see him as the 'present giving type."

"He's not. I'm not talking about him," Robin said with a laugh. Artemis' eyebrows scrunched up on her forehead.

"Batman isn't your dad?" Artemis didn't know what to make of that. No one has ever said otherwise, but they had always thought of them as father and son. What parent entrusts their 13 year old kid with a man who spends his nights dressed as a bat to go patrol the streets of Gotham at night?

"No, believe it or not. We're just... really close." Artemis couldn't help but laugh at Robin's response. The Batfamily wasn't getting any less cryptic tonight. Robin may be spilling his darkest secrets on her bed in the cave, but he was doing his best. No, he was doing amazing. He didn't need to say anything else. It was enough that he was there, hugging her, comforting her, willing to put up with her knowing who she was and what her father was. What else could a girl ask if a friend?

"Things will get better, Artemis." Robin gave her a shy smile as he spoke. He covered her hand with his, sighing. "Will you be okay if I clean these up?" He questioned, motioning to the flower petals still covering the bathroom floor.

"Yeah, that'd be nice." She took a deep breath as Robin headed towards her bathroom. She smiled. Maybe things were looking up after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this was alright for my first fic...I'm kind of amazed it ended up so focused on Artemis because I honestly don't care for her character as much in Season 1, but here we are. Let me know what you think below!


End file.
